How a Leap of Faith and Near-Death Experience Prepared This Latter-day Saint for Navy Chaplaincy

When Lt. j.g. Drake Cottman was dating his wife, Shayli, she made it clear that she did not want her future husband to have a career in the military.

No problem. At that time, a military career was not on his radar. He held a degree in linguistics and was pursuing a master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

Then early in their marriage, while living in Atlanta, Georgia, with a job he enjoyed, Drake Cottman invited his wife on a dinner date to discuss something important.

He said, “I think I want to become a chaplain in the Navy.”

She said: “Oh. What is a chaplain? And the Navy is the military. Obviously, something was forgotten.”

Fortunately for Drake Cottman, his wife was willing to listen, and together they trusted in the Lord’s direction for their lives. Their faith in His plan for them was tested when he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and not initially expected to survive.

Nearly four years later, in November 2025, Lt. j.g. Drake Cottman completed the U.S. Navy’s Naval Chaplaincy School Basic Leadership Course at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The husband and father of three recently began serving as a Navy Flight Line chaplain at U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella near Sicily, Italy.

Cottman is one of 26 active-duty Navy chaplains endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, with only 50 in the Church’s entire history, according to Chaplain Tamara Harris, the Church’s chaplain services manager.

“Drake Cottman’s path to military chaplaincy is nothing short of a miracle,” Harris said. “After an accident left his condition perilous, he and his wife clung to hope — inch by inch, moment by moment — trusting the call they both felt for him to serve. That accident and Drake’s remarkable recovery created an unexpected detour that ultimately strengthened his ministry.”

‘Fascinating’ Career Change

After serving in the Philippines Naga Mission, Drake Cottman earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics at Brigham Young University, with minors in teaching English to speakers of other languages and Middle Eastern studies with a focus on Arabic. He aspired to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Central Intelligence Agency.

After Drake Cottman and his wife, Shayli, were married in August 2013, he had an internship teaching English with a private adult school in Orem, Utah. The job paid well, so he continued working there after graduation and decided to pursue a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

After completing his master’s, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where Cottman worked for a translation and localization company, which involved writing proposals for large government and private business contracts for translation services.

One day while researching a proposal for the Department of the Army, Cottman found a website about the Army Chaplain Corps and was intrigued. Curious to know if the Church endorsed

chaplains, he searched and found information on the Church’s website.

“I found this all fascinating, then ‘moved on’ and continued my work,” he said.

But for weeks, Cottman couldn’t stop thinking about the chaplaincy. He wondered if the Lord was prompting him to change careers, and if so, why now?

“I had worked so hard and spent a lot of money on my first master’s degree,” he said. “Why did I do all that if I’m supposed to do this other thing now? And we had felt prompted to move [to Atlanta], ... and so it was a little confusing.”

He finally decided to pray about it.

“It began to seem pretty clear that this was not a fleeting idea,” Cottman said. “My wife had always said that she would never marry someone in the military, so it took me some time to muster up the courage to speak to her about this. She was surprised but agreed to pray and fast with me to know if this is what God wanted us to do. We both received the same witness through the Spirit that He was calling us to this work and that I was to serve as a military chaplain.”

Cottman’s bishop at the time had previously worked with a Latter-day Saint Army chaplain at Fort Benning, Georgia, and he arranged an introduction. The Army chaplain then connected the Cottmans with Latter-day Saint chaplains in both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, who shared in-depth experiences and insights.

“It was through this process that we felt the Lord was directing us to pursue Navy chaplaincy,” Cottman said.

Reassured With ‘Sense of Purpose’

After deciding to pursue chaplaincy, the Cottmans returned to Utah in 2018. Drake Cottman got his old teaching job back, applied to BYU’s chaplaincy program and was accepted.

Although everything was falling into place, things were moving quickly for Shayli Cottman. She asked her husband if they could pray about it one more time, and they did.

An answer came as the couple attended the Provo Utah Temple. They met an older gentleman who recognized Drake Cottman from a panel interview for the BYU chaplaincy program who revealed he was the director. He and his wife, who live near the Payson Utah Temple, chose to attend the Provo temple that day. As they talked and questions were answered, Shayli Cottman was reassured about moving forward. She told her husband, “Let’s keep going, let’s do this.”

Once Drake Cottman began the program and gained a deeper understanding of chaplaincy, he experienced further feelings of divine guidance.

“It was the sense of purpose. I knew that God had called me to do it and this is what I was supposed to be doing. That certainty has definitely helped me, even when things have gotten hard along the way, to trust that God knows what He is doing even if I don’t understand it,” he said.

With faith and many prayers, things fell into place. Cottman completed the two-year program and began working part time as a hospice chaplain and with BYU’s Center for Language Studies. He eventually left BYU and transitioned to full-time hospice.

‘Nothing Has Changed’

According to the police report, on July 5, 2022, Drake Cottman was riding his motorcycle to a hospice meeting when a car pulled out in front of him. He tried to brake, and the motorcycle wobbled, throwing Cottman into the driver’s side of the car.

He sustained multiple injuries and was transported to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah.

After two surgeries, a doctor informed Shayli Cottman that her husband was on life support, having suffered multiple injuries, including punctured lungs, a broken arm and a broken ankle. She recalled the doctor saying, “We don’t see that there is anything left we can do for your husband, and we’re not sure he is going to make it through the night.”

He survived the night. The next day, Shayli Cottman said a miracle occurred when the University of Utah Hospital, which wasn’t taking transfers at that time, made an exception for Cottman.

Even so, doctors doubted his survival, and if he did survive, they predicted he might never walk again. More surgeries followed, and covered by tubes, cords and wires, Cottman remained in a coma for about four weeks. When he awoke, doctors breathed a sigh of relief because it meant he was recovering.

Faith in Jesus Christ and many heartfelt prayers sustained Shayli Cottman and others during this difficult period. While hoping for her husband’s recovery, she also prepared herself for the possibility that his survival might not be the Lord’s will.

“I had to start my day, ‘With whatever today brings, remind me that You [Heavenly Father] are in charge. Whatever may happen today, remind me that this is Your plan,’” she said.

After waking, Drake Cottman learned of his extensive injuries and felt defeated because he had “ruined everything.” But even as he thought that, a powerful spiritual feeling communicated to him, “Nothing has changed.”

“I remember being very shocked by that, and then one of the doctors paused and said, ‘Despite everything, we think you can make a full recovery,’” Cottman said. “So it was like, ‘Whoa, OK, we are going to do this.’ At that point, all the sadness and self-deprecating thoughts were removed. God has this somehow, and we are going to just move forward.”

Despite a long recovery, Shayli Cottman said having her husband home was a mighty blessing of the Lord. Many times she found hope and comfort in reading Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9, the Lord’s loving message to Joseph Smith while in Liberty Jail. She also expressed gratitude for the Lord’s loving-kindness and strength to get through each day, along with the generous support they received from many people.

“Although it was hard, we had seen how bad it could be, and every blessing from here on out is a blessing we didn’t deserve,” she said. “It was given to us by the grace of God.”

Drake Cottman paid tribute to his wife’s unwavering love and support.

“She is the true hero of our story,” he said. “I would not be where I am today without her faith, resilience, trust and support. Although I was the one who was in the accident, she suffered much greater pain than I did and has shown more strength and courage than I have ever seen.”

More Empathetic Chaplain

Returning to his work as a hospice chaplain before moving to Italy, Drake Cottman felt like a different person. His experience enhanced his empathy for those facing difficult times.

“There was a different spirit there as I worked with people,” he said. “Being able to take those experiences and translate them into what people are going through, whether it’s emotional or mental struggles, and understand a bit more about the human condition and suffering.”

He hopes those who read his story will know that God is still a God of miracles.

“We might not always understand His purposes for why things happen to us, but I’ve learned, and I believe this wholeheartedly, that we can trust Him because He always keeps His promises, and He is able to turn devastating circumstances into incredible blessings,” Drake Cottman said.

His wife agreed.

“God’s plans don’t always take the path that we envision, but the journey is well worth it, and the end goal is always more grand than we can ever imagine,” Shayli Cottman said.